Page 183 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

The Goddess of Victory raised Hannah’s hand.

It wasn’t an overwhelming victory.

The flow of the battle had been in Hannah’s favor, but Mikhail’s swordsmanship was much better than I had thought.

If only Mikhail had been a bit calmer, or rather, if I hadn’t stopped him at the beginning, the Goddess of Victory might have raised someone else’s hand.

Mikhail’s downfall was that he had ignored his accumulating injuries. Hannah’s sword was like a venomous poison that subtly gnawed at his windpipe.

If not for that, the duel would have been longer, and Mikhail would have had several chances to seize the opportunity.

Let me say it again, Mikhail was strong. Strong enough to defeat Hannah.

Especially the technique he had prepared at the end was truly dangerous and had the power to change the outcome of the match.

Of course, that was if he had succeeded.

I don’t know what kind of training Rowan had given him, but the results of his growth were undeniable.

The purity of Orthodoxy.

The basics of swordsmanship.

He had grown much stronger than before.

However, the simple truth was that Hannah was stronger than Mikhail, and Hannah’s final attack was prepared before Mikhail’s.

That’s why I ended the duel.

Mikhail’s body was too exhausted to hold a sword, and his minor injuries had ruined his posture. I knew that Mikhail’s final attack would fail.

Rowan must have known that too.

That’s why he didn’t stop me.

Hannah’s technique would manifest faster than Mikhail’s preparation, and by the time Mikhail used his technique, he would already be lying on the ground.

I raised my head and looked at the three people standing in the training ground.

Rowan, who was standing there like an idiot, looking at Hannah; Hannah, who had a look of exhaustion on her face, more from the fact that it was ‘over’ than from the joy of victory;

And.

“Please...”

I could see Mikhail, who was holding onto my collar and denying his defeat.

“Please don’t say it’s over...”

Mikhail was in denial. He kept grabbing my clothes and denying it, as if something important was at stake in today’s duel.

Mikhail was shaking his head, unable to accept the outcome of his defeat, his breath trembling.

“I can still fight. So...!”

Why was he so desperate about an extra duel that wasn’t even in the original story?

“Please... Don’t tell me it’s over.”

Why is he like this?

I couldn’t understand Mikhail.

I couldn’t understand why Mikhail was reacting like this in a battle where he would suffer no harm.

I know that the existence of his teacher, Rowen, is important to Mikhail, but it was a bit much to see Mikhail react in such an extreme way.

He didn’t have any feelings for her.

He didn’t have any precious memories with her, so it shouldn’t be so sad that he would cry over losing to Rowen.

I couldn’t push away Mikhail’s hand and just quietly looked at him as I said,

“Don’t you realize?”

“No... Look, I’m standing like this.”

“Your legs are paralyzed.”

I said, looking at Mikhail’s trembling legs.

His trembling hands too.

His sword, which he had already dropped.

His body, which was clearly showing that he couldn’t continue the fight, what could I possibly say?

I shook my head and said,

“If we continue this duel any further, we’ll both receive fatal wounds.”

“No.”

Mikhail shook his head in denial.

He was clenching his fists and hitting his trembling legs, trying with all his might to make his exhausted body stand up.

I smiled bitterly at the sight of Mikhail’s hands hitting his unmoving legs, making a ‘thud’ sound.

“Mikhail.”

“No...!”

Mikhail denied.

“I finally found her, I thought I would finally be able to find her, I can’t end it like this...!”

“Mikhail...”

“That’s why. Ricardo, please...!”

I shook my head again. Because I couldn’t say what Mikhail wanted me to say. I shook my head heavily.

“Don’t you know that nothing will change if you do this? It’s not easy for me to say this, but with Mikhail’s current body...”

“Shut up...! I can do it!”

Mikhail picked up the sword that had fallen to the floor and raised his exhausted body.

I turned my head at the sight of Mikhail raising his body with his trembling legs.

No matter what, he was still a friend I had history with.

I had a lot of complicated feelings because of the lady’s matter, but it didn’t sit right with me to see my close friend get hurt.

Mikhail tried to head towards Hanna with his sword.

His trembling legs weren’t able to do their job properly because they had already given out, but even then, Mikhail was trying his best to move forward by supporting himself with his sword.

With blood flowing from his abdomen and soaking the floor, I stood in front of Mikhail and kept my mouth shut.

“Get out of the way.”

“I can’t do that.”

“I said get out of the way.”

“It can’t be.”

“Please...!”

With a loud thud, Mikhail’s body, which was about to move violently, collapsed to the floor.

I grabbed Mikhail’s body before he fell and lowered my head.

“Stop it.”

The bright red blood that was spreading dampened the academy uniform.

Feeling Mikhail’s small, trembling breath, I slowly lifted Mikhail’s body and stood in front of him once more.

Mikhail’s sad eyes were fixed on me. I had a hard time refusing the look in his eyes that seemed to be begging me to step aside.

We also had our circumstances, so we had a lot to lose if we were to let Mikhail’s tantrum ruin our hard-won victory.

I ignored Mikhail’s stubbornness once more and swept my hair up.

“Wait for the next opportunity. You’ve grown enough, Mikhail. The next battle will surely have good results...”

“There is no next...!”

Mikhail screamed, staring into the void.

He stared into the void as if there was something in front of him and let out a loud cry.

“The next...”

Mikhail sank to the floor and lowered his head.

Mikhail’s heavy shoulders, which had slumped down, were trembling like gentle waves. With trembling lips, Mikhail said,

“There is no next...”

Mikhail was watching the small spark of hope he had been holding onto go out.

– Quest Failed.

*

Hannah approached Rowan.

One step.

Two steps.

She stopped where she was and looked at her father’s face, who was looking at her with tired eyes.

“Father.”

Rowan’s shoulders flinched at Hannah’s low voice.

Because it was unbelievable.

The sword of Hannah that he had just seen with his own two eyes.

It was talent.

Clear talent.

Hannah had achieved the sword that could not be reached with mediocre teaching.

Orry’s awakening was later than Hannah’s, but Rowan’s misconception that he was superior in terms of what he had achieved was crumbling.

As the head of the Histanea family, who had received everyone’s expectations and the family’s investment, Hannah was catching up to part of the realm that he had thought no one could follow, and she was doing it at the age of 21.

The sword of his daughter, whom he had ignored as untalented, was denying his own eyes.

With clear results.

For the first time, Rowan felt a sense of guilt at the sight of his daughter’s sword, which he had thought was so weak that he had abandoned it, the seed of talent that he had trampled on without even watering the growing sprout, sprouting.

Because he realized now that the illusion he had seen was something that had happened because of him.

It was something that wouldn’t have happened if he had paid attention to his daughter, and Rowan came to realize after everything was over that the tragedy that could have been avoided if he had given her a little love had started solely because of his flawed existence.

He couldn’t admit it.

A mistake he was loath to admit.

Rowan could not lift his head from the fault he had tried to avoid, perhaps even known about beforehand.

Because he had let his daughter die.

That was why Rowan had not stopped the final attack. He had permitted her to use lethal force, but his convictions were crumbling before the blade Hannah wielded.

He had made a grave mistake, having been absent-minded and lacking the energy to resist.

Standing there like a fool, Rowan was speechless.

To Hannah’s teacher.

To his own daughter.

To his own disciple.

He had no excuse.

Hannah looked at Rowan standing there in a daze and spoke in a soft voice.

“It’s over.”

From Noble mtl dot com

“...”

“It’s over now.”

“...”

“The sword that Father ignored so much has defeated the person Father acknowledged.”

“...”

“Does that make you feel a little better?”

Hannah clenched her fists and said.

“Or will you refuse to acknowledge this too? Will you tell me to find another replacement and stick with it?”

Hannah spat out her mockery at Rowan.

“I hate you now.”

“I...”

“Father.”

Hannah cut off Rowan’s words with a trembling voice. She answered in a hard voice, showing her clear will to no longer listen to her father’s poor excuses.

“I won.”

“...”

“It’s really over now. This disgusting family and Father’s relentless wordplay are over. I...!”

Hannah clenched her fists with her bleeding hands and said.

“I don’t want to see you anymore.”

Hannah gazed lightly at the blue window that appeared before her.

-Would you like to view it?

Hannah shook her head.

That kind of past was meaningless.

She was someone who lived in the present.

She wanted to see it, and she wanted to see her future of living happily with the butler, but she didn’t want to dwell on what hadn’t happened and rejoice. She just wanted to be held by the butler now.

Hannah shook her head lightly and answered in her mind.

‘No.’

-Are you really giving up on viewing it?

If you give up on viewing it, you will not be able to view it again.

Hanna nodded her head.

She thought that the rewards from this duel were enough, and she wanted to rest for a bit.

“Yep.”

– You have refused the quest reward.

Hanna turned her back to Rowan and walked away, cutting off the long-standing grudge between them.

She could see the butler.

With a heavy expression, he consoled Mikhail and then turned around, facing the butler who was waiting for her.

Hanna clenched her fists.

And.

“Butler...”

She smiled brightly.

“I won.”

Hanna tightly hugged Ricardo.

Finally.

She felt relieved.